Meaning

Young; not fully developed..

Definitions by Sense

1. Young; not fully developed.
2. Characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish.
3. A prepubescent child.
4. A person younger than the age of majority; a minor.
5. (criminal law) A person younger than the age of full criminal responsibility, such that the person either cannot be held criminally liable or is subject to less severe forms of punishment.
6. (literature) A publication for young adult readers.
7. (theater) An actor playing a child's role.
8. (zoology) A sexually immature animal.

Example Sentences

There are certain Climates, where the Mind ripens and attains ſooner to Perfection than in others: nay there are ſome Conſtitutions of Body, where the humours are ſo exactly mixt, that they form an admirable Temper; the Effects thereof are diſcoverable in the firſt Juvenile Years, and leave very fine Remains, even in a decrepit Age.

We should then be able to count on the labours of fifty thousand juvenile home missionaries, and the next generation would be able to speak from a happier experience than we, of "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."—From the Canada Sunday School Record.

When juvenile offenders are spoken of, young thieves are usually intended; for an examination of the annals of crime will show that varied as are the offences of adults, those for which children are arraigned in a criminal court are almost invariably thefts more or less trivial; […]

[T]he juvenile justice system became firmly established as the legitimate institution for responding to juvenile delinquency and misconduct during 1900 and 1960.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), often referred to by doctors today as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), is a type of arthritis that causes joint inflammation and stiffness for more than six weeks in a child aged 16 or younger. It affects approximately 50,000 children in the United States. Inflammation causes redness, swelling, warmth, and soreness in the joints, although many children with JRA do not complain of joint pain.

Adde to this diſsipated and diſtracted ſtate of Miniſters, their private diſtreſſes and poverties, together with the publick neglect and indifferency of people toward them; who can wonder if they look pitifully one on another, which no jocoſe or juvenile drolings can relieve?

This is illuſtrated by a variety of examples; particularly by the attachment which we naturally form to inanimate objects; and by the pleaſure derived from hiſtoric ſcenes, from painting, and from the review of juvenile days.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a form of rheumatoid arthritis that affects children under the age of 16[…]. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis impacts the larger joints of the body and is a chronic condition.

Word Forms

• more juvenile
• most juvenile
• juveniles

Synonyms for juvenile

Antonyms for juvenile

Related Words

When Should You Use Juvenile?

Use juvenile when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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